


Stolen Hearts

by fadeverb



Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 15:31:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadeverb/pseuds/fadeverb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman moves to Riverview with only mad science in her heart. But it turns out there's room in there for even more...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stolen Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sashenka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sashenka/gifts).



Entry 1

I arrived in my new place in Riverview today. I found it a little odd when they told me not to bother packing anything, and to just take a taxi the whole way in, but it’s hard to argue with the free municipal taxi service! And the house was already furnished, so there’s that. Avocado and beige are _not_ my colors, but I’m just lucky to get something like this right out of high school. I spent most of the grant on the house itself--and let’s be honest, it’s more a trailer than a house proper--but I’m told that pretty much every place in town is hiring at entry-level positions.

I have a dream. A dream that one day, the world will recognize my TRUE GENIUS. Oh, they may have laughed at me in the Pleasantville School For The Ordinary. They said that no one could breed together animals and robots. They said “DNA doesn’t work that way” and “Did you even take biology?” and “Why are you putting festive hats on my Transformers?”, but I’ll show them. I’ll show them _all_.

Anyway, it looks like the Soil and Water Research Facility may have something available. I’ll head over there and find out how much it’s paying as soon as I post this update!

#

Entry 2

So it turns out that the “job” available at the Soil and Water Research Facility was being a test subject. Is that actually a job? I mean, I’m getting paid, but I’m not sure this kind of thing is legal. The benefits aren’t great, and the hours are long. 

But what am I saying? It’ll be fine! I have bills to pay, and they assure me that it’s a job with advancement potential. Maybe some day I could be supervising test subjects of my very own. Introducing them to attractive robots, urging them to kiss, hypothesizing about their future offspring... Oh, I can hardly wait!

I spent my first day at work meeting some of my coworkers. I thought that would only take a few minutes, but the inside of that place is some sort of bizarre rabbit warren of twisting identical corridors. And I guess scientists aren’t always the friendliest lot? I’d catch a glimpse of someone disappearing around a corner, or hear a door shutting, and only managed to actually introduce myself to two people.

My boss, Charlene, says that this is the way of scientists. “They’re shy,” she said, from behind the enormous screen she’s put up in front of her desk in the office. (It was probably her talking, anyway. Either that or she was using a really great speaker system. Sounded clear and authentic, if so!) “We’re all shy here. So shy. Please go back to testing now, I feel crowded.”

I suggested some sort of morale-building exercise, but Charlene said that I’d have to take that up with HR.

Probably I shouldn’t worry about it too much. If all of my coworkers are this bad with humans, it’ll be even easier to sell them on robot spouses some day.

#

Entry 3

Ugh. What a day. I was trying to make waffles, and I set the kitchen on fire. You’d think anyone could do waffles. All you need to do is whisk an egg for a bit and then pour it into a pan to go in the oven. Perfectly simple! A child could do it! But, no, I managed to immolate my entire stove. Thank god this place came with a fire alarm already installed. Then this amazingly hot firefighter ran in to save me from a horrible burning death--thanks, Naomi!--but when I tried to compliment her amazingly stylish wearing of the anti-death-by-flames suit, she told me that she just doesn’t do flirting. So that wasn’t even a win.

Then a burglar arrived in the middle of the night, and stole my television and bookshelf and fishbowl. Poor Walter. He was the only guppy I ever loved, and now he’ll never know the chilly yet loving embrace of a robot fish. I chased the burglar out, and yelled at her, and called the cops, but by the time the police arrived she was gone.

My kitchen smells like smoke, I’ve gotten almost no sleep, and the only inhuman creature I’ve ever loved has been taken from me forever. If I didn’t have work starting in four hours, I might just sit down and cry. You know. In front of the spot where my television used to be.

#

Entry 4

Well, things are looking up! To start with, I got promoted at work today. No longer will I be a test subject! I’m a _lab tech_ now. When subjects are being tested, I get to stand nearby with a clipboard and nod at the papers on that board while frowning significantly. It’s a big responsibility, but it comes with a raise, too. I’m glad they’re finally recognizing my true potential in the field of science.

Charlene did take me aside and tell me that I should stop hunting coworkers through the halls with a nerf gun I’d taped introductory notes to, because apparently I’ve met everyone now. She also slid a packet of mysterious seeds to the edge of the desk, the only part that can be seen past the screen. “Plant these,” she said. “Little hills of dirt, not too close together. Water them. Water them daily, and you will learn more...of science.”

I asked her if I should weed them, too, but she said I shouldn’t get carried away, and that weeding was reserved for scientists who actually understood what weeds looked like. Which is fair enough. I did plant them all when I got home, along with a lettuce from my fridge. I’m getting _so_ tired of eating salads, but that’s all I can really make at the moment with my stove still a charred lump of metal. It makes me depressed every time I walk into the room and see it. Which is a problem, given the one-room studio layout of this trailer.

Oh, but the really good news! _Walter is back_. This woman just walked up to my house after work today and gave me a gift, and inside the box was...Walter! Still in his bowl! Still with that rage-filled glint in his eyes! She said that she’d just happened across him in a totally innocent manner while she was out and about, and somehow divined that he ought to get back to a home where he was loved. Then she said something cryptic about how diaries never have very good locks, but I didn’t really follow that part.

Anyway, her name is Isabel and we’re going on a date tomorrow, since I have the day off from work. I’ll take her to the diner, since I can’t really afford better, but it’ll be great. I have high hopes.

Now I’m going to go make sure Walter’s been fed properly. The poor boy’s been gone for so long.

#

Entry 5

Isabel and I had this date, and we totally talked and talked and I complimented her cool weather wear and she asked my sign and oh, we’re dating now! I’ve never been so happy! We shared a kiss on my doorstep, and it was like I just floated up off the ground. Hearts and music and everything. She’s amazing, she really is. She’s an accountant, and she works at the Outstanding Citizen Warehouse Corp, which I had thought was an abandoned warehouse. But she explained that they just make the place _look_ abandoned so that they can do their pro bono accounting work in peace and quiet, which is very sensible now that she’s explained it to me.

I asked her to move in with me, but she said I was going a little too fast. So I’m going to hold off until tomorrow to ask her again.

#

Entry 6

I have been _so_ busy. Planting seeds, watering seeds. Wandering around town, staring into ponds in case I see a temporary boyfriend (or girlfriend!) for Walter while I get his robot suitor’s prototype finished up. Digging through piles of trash at the scrapyard to pull out some scrap... It’s smelly work, but it’s so satisfying when I come home full of satisfaction and with two hundred pieces of scrap in my pockets.

And I went out on another date with Isabel. I presented her with a toy cow made out of sheet metal, and she gave me flowers, and we danced to the stereo I got to replace the television that was stolen. She still won’t move in with me, but I think I’m starting to win her over. She promised to protect me from the nefarious evil lurking in this town! That has to mean she’s serious!

I asked her what kind of evil she had in mind, and she said something about werewolves. But I haven’t seen any of those yet. I mean, sure, some of the scientists have big sparkly wings, and I know that Phil over in the hydroponics lab will bite people on the neck sometimes, but I don’t judge.

Okay. Okay. I judge a little. It’s just weird when Amanda waves her wand and gives someone the head of a frog. It seems impolite to me! But when I told Charlene about this, she said that the employee handbook has absolutely nothing in it prohibiting casting curses on fellow employees, so I guess it’s permitted. Still, I am staying well away from the astrophysics department until she gets over that habit.

#

Entry 7

Isabel moved in with me! It’s the best day of my life!

We sat down and went over the house blueprints together, and it turns out that she’s making good enough money as an accountant that we could expand the house. We widened the main room, built a whole new separate bedroom for privacy, and put up a fence around my garden to keep the monthly zombie attacks out of there. (I am _so_ tired of losing my lettuce to zombies every full moon.) This place was a trailer once, but now it’s really looking like home.

And it turns out that Isabel has a television exactly the one that got stolen from me, so now we cuddle up on the loveseat together and can watch my gardening channel for hours. It’s really the best way to spend an evening. (Charlene says that soon I’ll be ready to plant stranger seeds than before.) We also splurged on a new bookcase, which came with a great book on home repairs. I’ve promised to fix the kitchen sink, which has been spraying water on the floor for the last three days, just as soon as I get to the plumbing section in the book.

#

Entry 8

It’s not that I’m not grateful for promotions. Advancement is great! But with this last one, I marched right into Charlene’s office and told her screen what for. The job title is insulting. I mean... “Useless Contraption Manipulator”? Really? I’m not useless! I’m being paid this salary because of my excellent skills. I can fix sinks and grow tomatoes. My lettuce harvests have been astounding. I am a proper scientist.

But then Charlene explained that it was just the _contraption_ that was useless, not the _manipulator_ , so I said that was fine, and sort of, you know, made a mental note to work really hard on getting promoted out of this job. I want to manipulate useful contraptions. The type that can convince a parrot and a toaster oven to fall in love.

Isabel was really sympathetic about it when I got home. She’s the absolute best girlfriend. (I’m wondering if she’s going to pop the question soon. Or should I? I mean, she moved into my house, so then she buys the engagement ring, right? I think that’s traditional.) Just last night, she said that she’s moving her work hours to the night shift so that she’d always be home when I get in from work. Isn’t that sweet? I didn’t even know accountants did night shifts!

#

Entry 9

Oh, I was wrong before. _Today_ was the happiest day of my life. I proposed to Isabel, and she said yes! A quick trip to the dresser later, we had matching dresses, and got married right there at home. Some of our neighbors came by, and one of Isabel’s coworkers. (He was wearing black and white striped clothing, which I thought was a little odd, but Isabel explained that it was to make some of his clients feel more comfortable because of their crime-riddled background.) We kissed, we exchanged rings, we served cake... It was magical.

After the wedding I showed off my new robotic whirligig thing. It’s pretty much just a bunch of spheres that spin around other spheres, but...they move! People nodded politely, but I can see that they don’t appreciate my genius. Some day, I’ll show them. I’ll show THEM ALL.

But not until after I’ve sent thank-you notes for the wedding gifts. Mother taught me to be conscientious about those sorts of things. She also told me that once upon a time, you actually had to _buy_ new outfits, instead of just selecting them from the catalog in the dresser. Isn’t that silly? What’s the point of buying dressers, if they don’t come stocked with all the clothing you could ever want?

I wish she could’ve made it to my wedding, but the local taxi service doesn’t travel between here and Sunset Springs. I don’t know what I’d do without all these taxis! Isabel’s been talking about getting a car, but what’s the point? I mean, a broom, sure, if we could fly those, but if we’re going to drive anyway, might as well get the kind of driving that lets us sit back and relax.

I think I’m going to surprise her tomorrow with a brand new oven, and cook her dinner before she goes to work at the warehouse. I’m going to be the best scientist-wife ever!

#

Entry 10

We are never getting an oven ever again.

#

Entry 11

Work’s been so busy lately, I’ve barely had time for any new entries. Between that and the garden and cuddling on the couch with my sweetheart, I’ve barely had time to do any robot creation! I mean, I did put together that static tester, but it hasn’t made any romantic overtures towards a single thing in the house, so it doesn’t really count.

Charlene called everyone into the office today for a pep talk. Something about new opportunities in China? I was a little fuzzy on the details, since I spent most of the meeting texting the astrophysicists. They’re all outraged that they weren’t consulted on the new space program. Apparently it’s just a military thing? I don’t know, they’re making a lot of snide comments about “kicking people into orbit” that I don’t really follow. Like I told them, I’m into biology and engineering, not that wacky esoteric flight stuff! I mean, seriously, flight. Who does that sort of thing? Everyone knows the future is all about hot air balloons these days.

Anyway, at the end she asked for volunteers to go to China and uncover the scientific secrets of the ancients. We all voted to volunteer Amanda for the gig. If we’re lucky, the latest round of frogging will wear off before she gets back, and then maybe with no reminders of how it works she’ll be distracted. We’ve agreed to pretend great interest in her travel stories on her return, too. It’s the best plan we’ve come up with so far that doesn’t actively violate one of the rules in the employee handbook.

I’m told that there’s an opening in the aquatics department that I might be qualified for, but I’m not sure if I want to take the job. What would Walter think, if he knew I was spending my free time fishing his brethren up from the brine-free depths? And then performing horrible experiments on them?

I guess he’d feel grateful that he’s with me instead! Ha ha! Okay, sure, I guess it won’t be a problem. I’ll put in my resume for that job tomorrow. Isabel says she’s sure I’ll get it, no matter what the competition, and maybe if there’s too much competition they’ll wake up on the interview morning with their tires slashed. She’s a real kidder like that.

#

Entry 12

Isabel and I had our first fight today. She came home from work wearing some sort of mask, and when I asked her about it, she said that she couldn’t lie to me any longer: she was really working for an international crime conglomerate, and she’d finally been promoted to henchman work. Then I pointed out that she was really a henchwoman, and how could she work for criminals, knowing what they’d done to me right after I moved in?

Then she...well. She told me the most terrible thing, and I may have reacted poorly, I guess? I sort of threatened to destroy the organization she works for, and she made very cutting remarks about my new floating duck invention, saying that it’s pointless when real ducks already float _on their own_ , and, oh, it was awful. I ended up sleeping on the couch, and eating ice cream all morning while I wondered where I went wrong with my life.

Not even the lovely blue coat I got with my latest promotion could comfort me.

She’s been out all day. “Stealing things,” she said. “Because I am a criminal. A criminal who steals things. Things which belong to other people. At least I’m not trying to convince fish to make romantic eyes at metal ducks.”

I may have said something impolite about the mask she was wearing.

Oh, I hope she’s okay. It’s raining out there, and I think she forgot her umbrella. What if she’s struck by lightning? People die that way! It’s one of the leading causes of death in this city, since we solved aging and appointed door inspectors to travel around making sure no one had accidentally become confined in a doorless room! But there’s no stopping the lightning when it comes for you.

If something happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself. I’ll make a robot replica of her, and together we’ll figure out how to destroy clouds. We’ll show them. We’ll SHOW THEM ALL.

#

Entry 13

We’ve made up. It’s fine. It’ll all be fine! We love each other more than I love the rule of law, and more than she loves maintaining the meaningless artificial barrier between biological and mechanical creatures. 

Also, we agreed that I shouldn’t talk in public places about the way she’s planning on ruling the world some day, because there are spies everywhere. And I’ve promised to be supportive of her climb to the top of the organization. After all, no international crime syndicate can be all _that_ bad if she’s running it.

She’s agreed not to wear the face mask during woohoo, so. There’s that too. Awkward to ask, but a good relationship is all about communication and compromise.

#

Entry 14

We expanded the house today. Isabel and I agreed that since I’m researching top secret matters at work, and she’s starting having dramatic fistfights with superheroes at work, and neither of us can tell any of our neighbors what we actually do for a living, it’s a perfect time to bring a new person into our life. So we’re adopting!

We’re still in discussions about whether we want to adopt a child, a puppy, or a robot, but I’m sure we’ll come to a suitable compromise soon enough. (Is there such a thing as a child robot? I should look into that, and whether they remain forever young, or grow up into robot adults who can learn the true meaning of love.) Cats are right out, because we do have Walter to think of, and we agreed that neither of us really has time for a horse.

On a related note, I asked Charlene if she’d ever heard of a horse and a car getting together to produce delightful cyborg wheeled horses. Or legged cars. There was a long pause from behind the screen, which I interpret as being a thoughtful one.

“No,” she said at last. “I think that if you wanted to do something like that, you’d need to start with motorcycles instead. More similar profile overall.”

I’m so glad Charlene is my boss. She really understands these things like no one else. Maybe some day I’ll even get to see her face!

#

Entry 15

Isabel finally removed her former employer and took over as Empress Of Evil at work today. I am _so_ proud of her. We went out to the diner together to celebrate, and talked about all her plans for the future. Apparently there’s some doofus calling himself the “Leader of the Free World” out there who’s now her sworn enemy, and who can never be allowed to learn her true identity. But I think we can handle that. I mean, who won the community hot dog cook-off down at the park last week? I did! Which just goes to show that I have this whole “dealing with other people” thing in the bag.

We took the rest of the day off together, and enjoyed the sunny blue skies. (Last week the city voted to not have rain anymore. That meant I had to install automatic sprinklers, but overall I think it’s an improvement, given the reduced chance of dying suddenly because of the wrath of the clouds.) We walked through the parks together, went to the community pool, watched some broom tricks, dug through trash heaps for more scrap, joined a pro-llama protest at City Hall...

Riverview is such a lovely town. Moving here was the best decision of my life.

We’ve agreed to adopt a child. The bedroom is all ready. It’s so exciting to have our household expanding!

#

Entry 16

Little Suzy is such a precocious child. She’s already learned how to rub her hands together and cackle, just like her mama. Sometimes they go hide behind the house and scheme together. It’s the sweetest thing!

I would make them cookies on their return, but Isabel’s the only person in the family allowed to use the stove, under the direct request of the fire department. (Some day, I’ll show them the error of their ways.) Instead I just put on our favorite gardening show, so that we can all sit on the couch together and watch that nice lady with the bouquets.

Snowflake Day is coming up soon, and I have such big plans. I haven’t even told Isabel about my latest promotion at work, because...well. I want this to be a surprise. I built a basement room with a door that has only one key, and I’ve been working on everything down there. All I need now is a pink diamond, and everything will be complete. Maybe I should ask Isabel to pick one up for me at work? I mean, she has minions and all... But I’m not sure if it would be entirely ethical. And it might ruin the surprise!

Oh well. I’ll figure that out later. I should get to work on finishing that greenhouse, first. The weather’s been getting nippy lately, and if I don’t get some glass over them, my steak and egg plants are all going to get peaky.

#

Entry 17

Dear Diary:

Today was the happiest day of my life.

After the gift-giving of Snowflake Day, I took everyone downstairs and let the family watch as I put the finishing touch on my surprise: a fully functional simbot that knows the true meaning of Snowflake Day, and how to love. Suzy and Isabel and I all stood back in admiration as my new creation, which I have chosen to name Walter 2.0, came to life. The light sprang on in his eyes! He spread out his arms, under his own volition!

He ran upstairs, grabbed Walter (The Original) in his bowl, and then ran out into the snowy winter day to wreak havoc across the city.

One of those irritating superheroes that keeps thwarting my beloved wife’s attempts to take over the world is out there battling Walter 2.0 right now. We can hear the crunching and explosions from how, where we’ve gathered around the television and put on a picture of a fireplace. It’s a glorious holiday, and it’s a wonderful life.

I expect that some day, Walter 2.0 will send me an email, telling me of his wedding plans with Walter (The Original). And on that day, I’ll know just how my mother felt when I was finally married.

Tomorrow, it’ll be back to the day-in-day out of work. Isabel will send her shadowy minions out to commit crime across the globe, Suzy will go to school (we’ve been thinking of boarding school), and I’ll head back to the lab for another round of grafting bioluminescent limbs onto mechanical llamas. But I think we’ll all be a little warmer inside for knowing how far we’ve come in this marvelous life.

Maybe I should make those bioluminescent limbs shoot lasers? Something to think about. A woman’s life is always happiest when she has another goal to pursue.


End file.
